Thursday, December 27, 2012 10:53:47 AM>Sminky Hate to tell you this, but I think you got the runt of the litter. My parents have had volvos of varying degrees of modernity, and the only faults we had were an electrical fault (from the factory) and frozen washer fluid (obviously not the car's fault).

Monday, December 24, 2012 6:13:53 PMAnother good example of the point RuralNinja made would be custom-built racing cars, e.g. F1 cars. Flimsy-looking cars that are destroyed in any crash that's much more than a bump...and you have a good chance of getting out and walking away after a 100+mph crash in part *because* the car was destroyed - its destruction reduced the force of impact and extended the duration of the deceleration, both of which are crucial factors in what happens to the driver.

Monday, December 24, 2012 6:00:04 AMThe reason modern cars crumple like an empty soda can is to absorb some of the impact energy of a crash.

That's true. I wrote some software for railway accident investigations back in the '90s, and they said that in most serious train accidents/derailments the train carriages themselves get destroyed, since they have "crumple zones" built in to each end that are designed to distort to absorb the energy of the incident. That and the fact that it usually takes a good 200-300 feet to dissipate the energy of a train moving at speed makes the deceleration gradual for the occupants of the carriages. That's why most of the passengers live despite not even wearing seatbelts or having airbags around them.

Monday, December 24, 2012 2:20:18 AMSwedish cars are the best! I have a Saab 900 (the old model) once a guys hit my car really hard on the right side,my Saab didn't even move and i just got a really low bruise on the side,the other car was like destroyed.

Sunday, December 23, 2012 8:08:32 PMThey stopped making vehicles that durable for a reason. If you get into a serious crash in a vehicle built like a tank, you'll probably die. The reason modern cars crumple like an empty soda can is to absorb some of the impact energy of a crash. If the car doesn't crumple, your body has to absorb all the energy. The only reason this guy didn't get hurt is because he has a helmet, a HANS device, a racing seat, and a 5 point harness.

Sunday, December 23, 2012 3:13:46 PMOh, man! What a waste! That Volvo was in a lot better shape than the old '87 wagon I share with the roomie. He could've had that one to wreck and given us the newer red one. B-(